career fair

Fall Career Fair brought record number of job seekers and employers to campus

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:36:41 +0000

Fall Career Fair brought record number of job seekers and employers to campus Lauren Reuscher Thu, 10/05/2023 - 13:36

A record number of students and alumni attended the Fall Career Fair to meet prospective employers. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

��AV’s Fall Career Fair, hosted by University Career Services on the Fairfax Campus, connected students and alumni with prospective employers on Sept. 27–28.

Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

Nearly 4,300 job and internship seekers attended the fair, meeting with recruiters from more than 250 different employers.

Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

The first day of the fair focused on science, technology, engineering, and math, and the second day focused on business, government and nonprofits.

Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

��AV is committed and successful in producing career-ready graduates. In Mason’s Career Plans Survey for the Class of 2022, 87% of undergraduate and graduate respondents reported a positive career outcome within six months of graduation (including employment, graduate school, military, or volunteer work). Among those students employed, 89% reported being in positions related to their career goals.

Students were encouraged to prepare in advance for the Career Fair. Check out the video.

Hear more about how Mason prepares students to succeed in their dream jobs, and why recruiters want to hire Mason grads. Watch the video.

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36 hours of innovation: Two hackathons at Mason inspire students to dream big

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:25:31 +0000

36 hours of innovation: Two hackathons at Mason inspire students to dream big Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 02/28/2022 - 12:25

In This Story

Kamaljeet Sanghera

HackOverFlow's Presidential Committee. Back row from left to right: Siddharth Veluvolu and Sai Srivatsav Gutala. Front row from left to right: Nicholas Paschke, Abegail Aquiro, and Josh Merriman. Photo provided.

There’s no shortage of creativity at ��AV, and from March 11-13, students will accelerate innovation at the university’s annual hackathon. This year, two events will take place simultaneously: PatriotHacks, the signature hackathon focused on software programming, and HackOverFlow, a new hackathon with a focus on hardware engineering.

“PatriotHacks…has been drawing hundreds of students to a 36-hour hackathon for the last three years,” said Kammy Sanghera, executive director of Mason’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA). “With the addition of HackOverFlow, we will be able to extend the opportunity to students who want to create prototypes or work on hardware solutions.”

"Robot Spider." An example of a hardware project students could create at HackOverFlow.

That could include robotics, wearable devices, or anything with a mechanical component, said Sai Srivatsav Gutala, a member of HackOverFlow’s presidential committee.

“My long-term vision for HackOverFlow is to have students come in with crazy ideas, no matter how big, no matter how impossible the world may think they are,” said Gutala, a senior studying electrical engineering.

The hackathons, hosted by IDIA’s TechConnect DC, will be held in Horizon Hall. College students of any major, from any institution, and recent graduates, are welcome to register individually or in teams.

PatriotHacks will also be in hybrid format this year, with online and in-person participation.

Both events are about fostering innovation and solving challenges, the students said, but you don’t have to be an expert to join.

Jared Ponmakha. Photo provided.

“If you’ve ever had an idea for a project but didn’t know how or where to start, this event is the catalyst to make your idea into reality,” said Jared Ponmakha, a senior studying computer science, and one of PatriotHacks’ directors. “Students benefit by being given the technical resources and mentorships to idealize their projects fully.”

In addition to the hackathon itself, there will be workshops, talks and social events, the students said, including a resume-building workshop and a Mario Kart tournament.

Participating also has career advantages, Gutala said, mentioning that sponsors and representatives from tech companies will be in attendance.

“Submitting projects gives students the ability to show the sponsors what they learned at the event,” Ponmakha said. “[The hackathons] give more personable job opportunities than a standard career fair.”

“It is a professional development opportunity for our students where they are not bound by grading criteria,” Sanghera said. “It allows them to think outside the box, be creative, and be confident to ask questions as they seek solutions for local, regional, or global issues.”

Prizes are another incentive.

“We offer 10 tracks to earn prizes, including ‘Most Likely to be a Startup’ to ‘Best Hardware Hack,’” said Ponmakha. “Prizes include fast tracks to internships and even a hacker goodie bag.”

The leadership team from both hackathons said they’re excited for what’s the come.

“There’s no greater feeling than working on a product you’ve been pouring your sweat and tears into,” Gutala said. “That happiness inspires us to give more opportunity to students so they can work on problems and create solutions that could be used in the real world.”